JCPenney Has A Ridiculous Explanation For Its Cluttered Stores

Many Wall Street analysts feel the retailer's overstuffed racks of clothing could scare shoppers away at a time when JCPenney desperately needs them.

But JCPenney spokeswoman Daphne Avila defended the company's clutter in a statement to Reuters.

"What one may misconstrue as clutter is merely a strategic effort to meet high customer demand," Avila said.

Financial blogger ZeroHedge points out the irony of JCPenney's statement.

"Is that like saying, 'one man’s trash…?'" the blogger writes. "It seems, for JCPenney that marketing and product placement come a weak second to a pit full of tangled clothes."

In November, JCPenney reported its first increase in same-store-sales in two years.

But that bit of positive news doesn't negate the fact that JCPenney lost one million of its customers in 2012 after failed CEO Ron Johnson eliminated sales and alienated many longtime patrons of the department store.